You can contribute by visiting Wargaming Tradecraft to send an email to me. Include photos of a mini or two that you painted when you first started out and another that shows how you've improved; if you like, also share some words of wisdom. As a reward for baring all, I'll pimp your blog if you tell me where to point the link.This series will continue as long as you keep sending me content - currently, I need more!

"I
originally got in to 40k 10 years ago and started up some Space Wolves. I
painted up a decent amount of them over a year or two, but then stopped for 6
years. I started painting again late in very late in 2009 and joined a gaming
club in Jan 2010. Since then I've been playing and painting and having fun! I
think my first ever model is actually not that bad. I tried to do some
highlighting and some blending. Since then I'm not sure I've really improved
that much :-/ I still can't blend at all, but at least I've started shading in
addition to the highlights."

"I started Orks 5 years ago as an outlet for my general
zanyness. I quickly started scrathbuilding things and painting them
up.

It took a long time for me to realise that my work was not
only bad, but actually very bad.

Saying that, I still scored well at tournaments as all my
minis were 3 colours, drybrushed, washed and based.

I never got a look in for "best army" as the
models only filled "tabletop quality".

Recently I went to a large 60+person event and score very
poorly on painting. It was then that I realised I needed to not only revisit
the army [120 boys ++ :( ] but improve my skills.

I subsequently started another Ork army
(extending my collection) and have stopped, read, looked at, thought about, and
moved forwards slowly, steadily, and with the goal to have a 30/30 painted
army.

fester's Tips for painters:

Work out a paint scheme you like, then paint an army fast
to tabletop. Get it done, you dont have to be perfect.My space marines can knock out 40+ marines in 4 hours (which is mostly drying time), painted,
based, detailed. Its all in the colour scheme you pick.

Pick a squad a month to repaint. Don't limit the time you
can take, limit the minimum time you can take. 1 HQ in 20 hours, no lessORStart extending the same army, or a new army, having
another painted army to play. You can't play with the army until its painted,
and you can't say its "painted" until 95% of the people who see it at
the LGS say "oooh"."

4 comments:

I really like the idea for this series. I might have to get in on the action.

Those are some really great tips from Fester. One thing that has held back my painting speed is struggling with my inner perfectionist and almost obsessive attention to details that won't even be seen on the battlefield. I might have to try that method of getting my army done quickly and then going back and making it look really good. It sounds like the best of both worlds, speed painting and high quality painting.

Content on this website may not be reproduced without written permission from myself, Dave Garbe. Note that I'm not a trained artist - the things discussed on this site are mostly from self teaching and it's entirely possible there are better ways to do them.

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